Recent content by GRA

Remember the old joke about politicians, lawyers and car salesmen: "How can you tell if they're lying? Their lips are moving." While it could be true, never believe anything a car salesperson tells you without independent verification from an official source. Whether through ignorance or...

An EE on the LEAF forum measured the charging efficiency of his 2011 LEAF (3.3 kWh OBC) using L1 and L2. It was 75% at L1, and ca. 85% (don't remember the exact number; might have been as high as 87%) using L2. The charger and electronics have to be cooled, regardless of whether the battery...

I think part of the problem is that the car is so low key. I do a PEV count during evening rush hour every few months a few cities south of Oakland, and I've ID'd precisely one e-Golf in the wild. In a two hour span from say 4:30 to 6:30 I'll typically see 60+ PEVs, with PiPs/LEAFS/Volts in...

Tony Williams ran his regular freeway test (62 mph steady, no a/c, no hills, no wind, temp ca. 70 deg.) and IIRR the e-Golf managed 100 miles, the i3 89. The e-Golf has a larger usable battery, and at freeway speeds drag is more important than weight.

Yes, it is. Go to Plugshare, and uncheck "Residential Chargers" and "Public Stations" in the "Legend" drop down box on the upper right. Then click on "More Options" at the bottom of that, or else click on the gear wheel icon at the center of the top toolbar. Doing either will bring up the...

The best source for finding charging stations is Plugshare: http://www.plugshare.com/ On the page, to find CCS stations uncheck all but the 'High Power Stations" box in the drop down 'Legend' menu in the upper right, then click on "More Options" at the bottom of that box (or the gear wheel icon...

As the article makes clear, it refers to the first e-Golf delivered to a customer by a dealer, not the first car to be sold (that's the one auctioned off).

Via ievs.com: http://insideevs.com/first-volkswagen-e-golf-sold-us-now-21-major-evs-sale-america/

Looks are subjective, but if that's of primary importance to you then by all means choose whichever car that you think looks best. It's all good.

I think the Kia Soul EV is going to be the real competition to both, as it provides more range (I expect the e-Golf would come in around the same as the LEAF on the test below, but depending on efficiency maybe more like the Spark EV) at a good price. Not everyone's cup of tea, but with more...

There's no question that the B-class is designed to be a nice family cruiser and around town hauler, not something you'd want to take out and throw around; the Car and Driver comparison test with the i3 reflects that, so its really a question of what you want the car for...

The reason the B-class' only gets an 87 mile EPA range is because it normally only uses 28 out of the 36 kWh in the battery (it's also a considerably larger vehicle than the e-Golf/LEAF etc.). This is good for battery longevity. There's a $600 range package option that allows you to use more...

Here's the thing. Charging at L1 (120 volts) takes a long time no matter what car you're using. - you typically get just 4 or 5 miles per hour of charging on L1, which is limited to a maximum of 12 amps (and often less on circuits which aren't in good shape), a charge rate no greater than 1.44...

A couple of minor corrections/comments. I assume you meant the Chevy Volt, not the Spark in your remark about hybrids, as the Spark is a BEV. Assuming you aren't turned off by its looks, the now available Kia Soul EV is another option. At a much higher price tag, the Mercedes B-Class is also...

If you don't want to get hosed by paying MSRP if not more, then it's always a good idea to wait until the people with their tongues hanging out have gone first, and demand falls to long-term levels. I suspect the Golf will do better than the i3 when it arrives, because it's a lot less expensive...